Test of Brotherhood
by Allison Shorecoat
Summary: "Here we go again." Turning, Jack quickly silenced Pooh-Bear and Stretch with a stony glare, "do you think we could get through just one hour without the two of you bickering like an old married couple? What will it take to get the pair of you to stop fighting?"


**Hey everyone! How's it going?**

**So, I really have no idea where this story idea came from, sort of just popped into my head a few days ago and I couldn't get it out. This would be my first Matthew Reilly fanfiction, although I have been meaning to write one for while but none of them have gotten off the ground. **

**This is kind of a miniature adventure which takes place a little before Seven Ancient Wonders. That's all I really have to say about it in summary. **

**Please enjoy.  
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**Congo, 17 September 2006, 1300 hours local time **

The team ran, fast and low, ignoring the damp rock which scraped across their backs and the water which dripped from the ceiling onto their helmets. Just ahead of them swooped a bird, a small falcon, illuminated by the light from the torches on the helmets of the running team.

At the front of the group, his eyes narrowed in concentration, was Jack West Jnr. Without pausing he led the team, which consisted of six members plus himself, through the long dark tunnel, feet occasionally splashing through puddles of water. Eventually the tunnel opened up into a large antechamber, allowing all of them to stand up straight, some groaning as they stretched out their sore backs.

'Well, I'm most certainly never doing that again!' one of the men grunted, looking pained.

'You're probably going to have to on the way out brother dear,' the single woman in the team quipped jokingly, 'kind of sucks to be tall right now doesn't it?'

In response the large man, Gunman, or as he was now being called, Big Ears, just pulled a face. The low journey had been uncomfortable for most of them, but for Big Ears, at six and a half feet tall, it had probably been downright painful. It had probably been equally as painful for the second tallest in their team, who was also over six feet. The team's sniper, once known as Archer, but now, having also been renamed, addressed by the team as Stretch, was also flexing out the muscles of his back.

Letting his team recover their breath in the higher roofed antechamber, Jack keyed his radio, 'Wizard, how's things up at ground level?'

'_All good up here Jack,' _came the reply, '_Where are you in the system?'_

Jack looked around at his surroundings, 'An antechamber of some kind. Looks like we have three possible exits, one in each wall. All have an inscription above them.'

There was a pause from the other end of the radio as Wizard thought. It had been Jack's idea to leave him up on the surface, along with Lily. The little girl in his care was only nine after all and she wasn't quite ready for missions out in the field yet. That had left Jack to lead the remaining team of six down into the tunnel system which ran underneath a large rainforest on the outskirts of the Congo. Their objective; retrieve a collection of stone tablets which Wizard needed for his research on the Golden Capstone. These stone tablets just so happened to be located in the middle of some underground maze. Just another small mission which led towards the completion of the major task.

Besides, Jack reasoned to himself, it was good practice for the rest of the team to get a taste of what trap systems were like, even if this place was yet to spring anything major at them.

'Okay Wizard, what you got for me?' Jack asked.

'_According to my notes it should be the tunnel on the third wall, the one to your right. But be careful Jack, it's either in this antechamber or the next one where the entrance to that sub-trap system I was telling you about is. Look out for any large holes in the floor.'_

'Large holes in the floor, got it. Talk to you later Max,' he signed off and turned to the rest of his team, who were all standing and ready to go again, 'it's this tunnel team. Come on.'

This next tunnel appeared just as low as the first one they had come through. At the back, Stretch groaned, sounding annoyed, 'great, another backbreaker.'

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a shorter, rounded man, Pooh-Bear, snapped, 'why can't you look at something positive for once Israeli?'

'You can't talk Arab, at least you don't have to bend in two to get through these things,' Stretch retorted at once.

Jack, who had previously been ignoring the pair, instead examining the tunnel with his torch to see if he could spot any traps, heard Fuzzy speak from beside him, in an exasperated tone, 'here we go again.'

Turning from the tunnel, Jack quickly silenced the two with a glare, 'do you think we could get through one hour without the two of you bickering like an old married couple?'

Silence met his words as Pooh and Stretch turned away from each other. The rest of the team appeared relieved as Jack directed Stretch to remain at the back, while Pooh-Bear moved to run toward the front of the team. But if Jack was going to be entirely honest, if the two of them wanted to argue them putting them a few meters from each other wasn't going to help.

The next run was just as low and backbreaking as the first one had been, but thankfully, the tunnel was much shorter. As per before, Jack ran at the front, with Zoe just behind him, closely followed by Pooh-Bear, Noddy, Fuzzy, Big Ears and Stretch bringing up the rear. Once again the tunnel opened out into a large stone chamber, this time with only one option for a door on the far wall, underneath a large stone inscription. The chamber was larger than the first one they had passed through, but very plain, save for the moss on the walls and floor and the tree roots which hung through the ceiling.

The floor of this chamber appeared to be constructed in a wide circular pattern, originating from a slightly lowered section, also cut into a perfect circle, and rimmed by stone, moss covered steps. The lowered section of floor appeared to be fully sealed. Clicking his tongue behind his teeth, Jack studied the rest of the floor, but upon seeing no large holes in the ground as Wizard had warned, he keyed his radio again.

'You know that entrance to the sub-trap system,' he started.

'_Yeah?_'

'I don't see it.'

There was a rustling of paper on the other end of the radio. Around Jack, the rest of the team was cautiously fanning out around the rest of the chamber, examining the stone walls and brushing away moss so the grey stone glittered wetly under the light of their torches. In the centre of the room, Fuzzy and Stretch had crouched beside the large circular indent, just by the stone steps. The indent was probably a good ten feet in diameter, plain save for a long crack which ran right the way across.

'What do you suppose this is?' Fuzzy called out the others.

While Jack stood off to the side, waiting for Wizards explanation, the rest of the team gathered around Fuzzy and Stretch, gazing down at the floor.

'Sacrificial alter?' Big Ears guessed, only to be whacked on the arm by Zoe, 'what?'

'Maybe it was a pool of some kind?' Pooh-Bear suggested as he walked around the outside.

'Far too shallow,' Noddy shook his head in disagreement, 'perhaps we should ask Wizard, he'd know?'

As Pooh-Bear looked up, about to call Jack over, he suddenly miss-stepped on the slippery, moss covered stone. With a startled grunt he fell forwards, crashing into Stretch and sending both of them sprawling down into the shallow indent. Roughly Stretch shoved Pooh away, rolling back across the flat stone to put some distance between them. The rest of the team had the look of a party who wanted to retreat into a bomb-shelter as Fuzzy stood and backed up a little.

Noddy was the one who spoke, in a low voice, 'well, this is something we're never going to hear the end of.'

Glowering at Pooh-Bear, Stretch stood, brushing slimy moss off his jacket sleeve as he did so, but before he could open his mouth to speak, there was a low rumble. The team looked around, confused, and Jack, previously oblivious to the commotion, put away his radio. The rumbling continued, until suddenly, directly underneath Pooh-Bear and Stretch's feet, the ground started opening along the long seam, like two giant stone doors. Then, before either could move out of the way, the floor underneath them was gone, and both went tumbling down into the dark, yawning abyss which lay below the stone slabs.

Darting over, Jack swore as he stared down at the deep pit. Standing uneasily by the edge, Noddy, Fuzzy, Big Ears and Zoe were all staring down as well; all looking very unsure about what just happened. Carefully, Zoe leaned forward, shining her torch down to reveal the sloping, smooth walls of a tunnel.

'Pooh, Stretch,' she called, 'are you okay?'

It took a few seconds of listening, but eventually the team got their reply, 'get your bony elbow out of my face Israeli.'

'I would but I can't move underneath your fat ass. Get off!'

'I'm trying, but it's a little dark down here.'

'Get your hand out of my face.'

'That's not my hand.'

'Then get your foot out of my face!'

Standing back from the edge of the pit, Zoe sighed, 'they're okay.'

Still crouched by the edge of the pit, Jack studied the smooth, tunnel walls. They sloped steeply at first, but then curved into a much gentler slope. The fall wasn't designed to kill you, this wasn't a trap, it was an entrance way. A previously covered entrance way. The seal had probably been put in place to stop just anyone from falling into it. Why it had opened for Pooh and Stretch he had no idea currently, but something they had done had triggered the mechanism.

By his side, Zoe touched his shoulder. When Jack looked up he saw that she was clutching a long coil of rope by her side. Standing quickly, Jack took the rope from her, uncoiling it and tossing the end into the tunnel below them. Big Ears took the spare end from Jack and wrapped it around his wrists, ready to act as an anchor for the two to climb out.

'Okay, Pooh and Stretch,' Jack spoke into his radio, 'if you can see the rope, give it a tug.'

From somewhere far below them, the rope went taunt as someone gave it a pull, 'good. Now we're going to hold onto it from up here while the pair of you climb out.

'And if you could somehow manage to not argue on the way out, that would be much appreciated,' Fuzzy called down to them.

They were answered by silence, but the tautness of the rope indicated quite clearly that they were climbing. Zoe, who was still standing by the edge of the pit, nodded in approval as she saw Stretch come into view, closely followed by Pooh-Bear. The two had just begun the final climb out when there was a familiar grating rumble. The two sides of the stone slab had begun sliding back into place, much to the alarm of just about everybody.

'That's not good,' Big Ears grunted.

There was a loud boom as the two sides slammed together, sealing tightly. The force snapped the rope clean in two and it went slack. Despite his alarm, Jack managed to keep a straight face, more for the sake of his team than anything as he rapidly keyed his radio.

'Pooh, Stretch, can you hear me? Are the two of you okay?'

There was a delay, but eventually Pooh-Bear replied, 'we're all good Jack, just a little bruised from the second tumble down.'

'Stay where you are okay, I'm going to contact Wizard to see if there's any way we can get help down to you.'

…

Down in the inky black pit, Pooh fumbled blindly for his torch which had come loose from his helmet. More often than not his hands slipped across rock, until they impacted with something rubbery, which he instantly tried to get a grip on.

'That's my foot you idiot,' Stretch hissed from somewhere in the darkness, kicking his hands away.

'How was I to know that? I can't find my torch –' he was cut off as bright yellow torch light suddenly filled the area.

Stretch, with his flashlight still attached to his helmet, gazed around at the now semi- illuminated cavern. Using the available light, Pooh-Bear quickly scrambled to grab his own torch, which lay a few feet away to his right.

'Where are we?' he asked, looking around at the square room.

It wasn't a particularly large chamber. The ceiling was only three or four meters high and the room width was probably no more than that. All across the walls, half hidden by moss, were stone carvings of ghoulish figures and symbols. A few feet above them was the round entrance to the tunnel they had entered by, and directly opposite was another equally round tunnel, also a few feet off the ground.

While Pooh-Bear remained seated on the floor by the entrance tunnel, Stretch stood, cautiously peering into the tunnel on the opposite side of the room, 'this one goes straight on, perfectly flat. It doesn't appear very long either, probably ten meters.'

He turned back to Pooh-Bear, who hadn't moved. Clutching his flashlight in one hand, Pooh got to his feet, but didn't move from the entrance way, 'Jack said to wait until he had contacted Wizard. We stay here.'

An uncomfortable silence filled the room, Pooh-Bear standing at one end waiting rather impatiently for the radio, Stretch leaning against the opposite wall in his usual world weary manner. The thick silence was only broken several minutes later by the squawk of a radio.

'_Pooh, you still there?'_

'Right here Jack. We haven't moved. What's the story?'

There was a slight pause before Jack spoke again, _'we can't get you out of there the way you went in buddy. The doors are on some kind of mechanism, they won't open again until the system has been reset.'_

'How do we reset the system?' Stretch asked, materialising beside Pooh-Bear, making him jump.

'_By opening the exit door. The system won't reset until the two of you make it to the end doorway.'_

Off to the side, Pooh-Bear commented softly, 'what's the catch?'

Jack continued, evidently not hearing Pooh-Bear, '_According to Wizards notes the two of you are going to have to make it through some kind of trap system. I don't know what kind; there aren't any details on that. All I know is the only way to get out is to successfully get through. The rest of us will meet you at the exit doors. You two are on your own for this one.' _


End file.
